Drop tube and support fixture



A H BAER DROP TUBE AND SUPPORT FIXTURE Filed June 29. 1934 arch 1936.

Apt a f Patented Mar. 17, 1936 STATES.

' DROP TUBE AND SUPPORT FIXTURE. iiivin Ii, Baer; Carbondale, Pa,', assignor, by mesne assignments, V to Worthington Pump and Ma.- chinery Corporation, Harrison, N. J2, a dbl-p ration of;Virginia v Applicationjune 29, l93f1 Serial N0. 73 3 ,Q42

- IZ-Claims. (01. 62-459) My es-ea flt etieniit etee etaent e t air; delivering drop, tubes which m di ed in the cans, in. which er a 1t 9 Wei me; o m tt swinging movemen of the droptube in respect atha a air n pe id ngi b ve. and

' r'o' 0' akage joiair.

portin phrase that "t e drop a o asionaleiidwisedisplacement igt erz ef emlwhich e a e h n 'Q q 15 lct boring"bfthe holes'threiri' or slightly difetentt la i of t cansnother object is to provideja flexible tube connection between" the supply. air pipe and an air passage in the drop tube hanger, yet so to 29} counterbalance the Weight of the hose that the drpp tube', always hangs vertically, this despite the tap the droptube hanger fixture but loosely encircles, thesupply air pipe and has but a small support surface in rockable contact therewith. 7 Another object is to provide, improved means for effecting subdivision of the air stream emanatingfromthelower end of the drop tube.

'The main object is to so support the tube that ignites? freely swing in. any direction in the can at. adiwi e nlt sli ht resistance a ar air gvwate'r, current in thecan maycause the lower end ofithe tube to move in the direction of the m mum or minimum horizontal dimension of """characternoted which is simple and practical iri construction, rugged and durable in'use; all oi the parts of which arereadily removable for ;p; urose s of convenient repair and assembly, and U A g. which, is. well suited to meet the req uirements, of economical i manufacture.

nve n metf e ete ll n er to d rcfii he n q nede ri tio in ne iqn with v the accompanyi r win Vvt ene Fig. l is aufragmentary I diagrammatic plan view of one corner of an icefreezing. apparatus.

55 ,fi av ew Qi th teheendfi i e ar l 1n efntion" is toprovide mg cap leoif slightmove-f rly; o9, ere'd with respe t tov trier objects are, to provide a. fitting of the ite ele e i eeea et l i al qt a and les w a F' 'Vig 5,,is s w through another foi ii dfi tu r anidgin aplaiie at right angles to: thefair 5 pipe. i

iriFig, 1 lii represents a, brine filled tank and I i, plurality of rows'o'f standard ice cans'sup-f' ported: ir'ilt he brine in conventional fashion', The system ford ivering air to the water. in thecans 1 0 dfiring preliminaryfonpartial freezing, thereof ihcludesfaboinpre'ssed. air, header i2 supplied fro suitable source, (not shown) A pluralitylof Iatera'lsjsuch as. l3 are connected to the. haderlfl far' dleach extend above a row of cans Li. My preserit'invention is concernedwith the, 'r eu e he; we thi u o n m m. h t a t a i i andl pt de n ai o m.

".T e detail'sof one of my improved drop tube fixtures are shgwnlin Eigs. 2 to iinclusivel The fixturge'includes an eye portion M, to encircle the pjipe'l3 and a pendent stem portion l 5 integral w i'th theeye, Eye i4 is of relatively thin'fiat meta substantially greater minimum diameterjlthan the; outside diameter of pipe i3 slightly elongatedfrom top tobottom. i Ar ange dfat the; top of the eye and internally het n li n e men ed fib I ii en/ a saddle which rests uponthe mp ofvthe ,p fl

so that the eye is 'rockably mountedon th'e prpe. 39 The. eyeis. prov-1,5 99 ime; m d t Sides w th a a qt ame ieall p osite n ne 1 an hr bne'o he e e ings. an a12, hose fitting I 8 is screwed intoa suitable opening ine ea Th me er or he t ide w th oflthefrttijng l ii which screwsintothe pipe IQ i l h%n. m i um d a eterf i; opening 1T; sQthat slight adjustments of the eye member alone bout he n ne a b ad, without disturbing the fitting I 8, 4

T he outer arm fthis L-shapedfitting is-d's; H ean h ri n P t n P a1 e w1 me-. Wien r e he pe '3 m i e 91.191?'fiiiill :'Q Q W QWP a e t fle b hose to tim Zi::.1 ir" i tii atera r me t m-t Member t; nd; nipp e 20; h hav e c stemar peripheral roove fl he e nfor fries-t tional engagement with the ends of the rubber, hoseiihwhich are forced over them. 7

The horizontal. airlpassagewaytn in thernip ple 20 communicates with a vertical passageways 23 having an outlet at the bottom ofthe stem IS, the lower portion of -this stembeing bevelled to afford a tapered annular shoulder 24. Above the shoulder the stem is externally threaded as at 25.

The drop tube 26 has its upper end flared as at 21 to seat on the tapered shoulder 24 and this flared tube mouth is pressed against the shoulder and an effective air seal afiorded by a nut 28 which screws onto the threads 25 and which is internally tapered as at 29 to engage the flared drop tube mouth and force it against the shoulder. The tube near its upper end is encircled by a rubber retaining ring 30 which prevents the nut 28 from falling off when unscrewed.

In order to direct the discharging air stream from the lower end of the tube in opposite directions to assure a maximum amount of agitation of the water in the can, the lower end of the tube is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed slots 3|. These slots permit the air to escape from the two opposite sides of the tube facing in the direction of the greatest horizontal dimention of the can so that the streams of air are directed up along the opposite sides of the tube and induce a down-flow of water at the opposite side of the can. The slots are far more inexpensive to form than any partition in the tube.

The weight of the hose I9 and the weight of the nipple '20 normally tends to rock the eye [4 on its seal [6 and throw the tube 26 out of the desired vertical position. Air pressure in the hose tends to stiffen it and resist swinging of the drop tube in one direction. To overcome these tendencies I employ a counter-balancing member integral with the stem portion of the fixture. This counter-balance illustratively comprises a laterally projecting cylindrical extension 32 disposed diametrically opposite the nipple 2D. In addition to serving as a counter-balance it may be used as a handle for shifting the entire fixture laterally along the pipe l3. It will be apparent from the foregoing that the drop tube may freely swing on the pipe in the plane of the latter by rocking onthe rib [6 as a knife edge and may also freely swing on the pipe by the endwise sliding of the rib. Thus the pipe is not restrained against movement in any direction. Damaged nozzle members IB or drop tubes 26 etc. may be readily replaced with new ones. Furthermore it is unnecessary to remove the entire air lateral where the repair of one drop tube or fixture is required.

Although in the construction above referred to the eye l4 encircles the air pipe, this is not essential as it is only important that the fixture be freely supported on the air pipe and that the drop tube be suspended from below the air pipe. Thus one side of the eye may, if desired, be omitted. In Fig. 5 the fixture includes a curved arm Ma similar to the eye I, but with one side omitted. This has the flange I6 engaging the under side of the pipe and the pendant stem portion beneath the air pipe. The air fitting I8a extends through an aperture in the arm Ma and permits the fixture to rock or swing in any direction, but normally holds it against being accidentally discharged from the air pipe.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:--

l. A drop tube support fixture including an eye to encircle an air deliverypipe and to support a drop tube, said fixture having a supporting projection for engaging the upper side of the pipe and permitting thetube'to swing in any direction, a stem portion having a vertically disposed air passageway therein for communication with said drop tube and a hose receiving nipple having a passageway therein communicating with the passageway in the stem.

2. An air delivery and tube support assemblage of the character described, including in combination with a horizontal air pipe, a fixture loosely suspended from the pipe and a drop tube carried by the fixture, an air outlet fitting at the pipe, a hose receiving nipple at the fixture, a flexible hose connecting the fitting and nipple, means for conveying air from the hose through the fitting to the drop tube and a boss integral with the fitting for counter-balancing the weight of the hose to maintain the drop tube in vertical position.

3. An air delivery and tube support assemblage of the character described, including in combina tion with a horizontal air pipe, a fixture loosely suspended from the pipe and a drop tube carried by the fixture, an air outlet fitting at the pipe, an air inlet nipple at the fixture, a flexible hose connecting the fitting and nipple and means for conveying air from the hose through the fixture to the drop tube and means for counter-balancing the weight of the hose to maintain the drop tube in vertical position.

4. A drop tube support fixture including an eye to encircle an air delivery pipe, a stem portion having a vertically disposed air passageway therein, said stem at its lower end being bevelled to aflord an abutment for the flared upper end to a drop tube and being externally threaded above said abutment for engagement with a nut which retains the flared drop tube mouth against the abutment.

5. A drop tube support fixture including an eye to encircle an air delivery pipe, a stem portion having a vertically disposed air passageway therein, said stem at its lower end being bevelled to afford an abutment for the flared upper end to a drop tube and being externally threaded above said abutment for engagement with a nut which retains the flared drop tube mouth against the abutment, and a hose connection for conveying air from the pipe to the hollow stem.

6. An air delivery and tube support assemblage of the character described, including in combination with a horizontal air pipe, a fixture loosely suspended from the pipe and a drop tube carried by the fixture, an air outlet fitting at the pipe, an air inlet nipple at the fixture, a flexible hose connecting the fitting and nipple means for conveying air from the hose through the fixture to the drop tube, a counter-balancing extension arranged at the side of the stem opposite the nipple.

'7. A fitting of the class described including a portion to engage and be suspended from a horizontal air pipe, 2, pendent drop tube carrying extension integral with the support portion means for conveying air from the pipe to the drop tube carrying extension, a hose connection for conveying air from the pipe to the drop tube carrying portion and means to counter-balance the weight of the hose.

' 8. A drop tube fixture including an eye adapted to encircle a supporting pipe, a tube carrying extension fixed with respect to the eye,- said extension having an air passageway therein communicating with the tube and a flexible hose connection for conveying air from the supporting pipe to the passageway in the fixture.

9. Apparatus for freezing water ice, including a plurality of ice freezing cans, an air pipe ar- 7 ranged thereabove, drop tubes extending into the cans for delivering compressed air beneath the surface of the Water to be frozen, supporting fixtures, and rounded arcuate ribs on said supporting fixtures engaging said pipe whereby said supporting fixtures are loosely suspended on the air pipe and may swing in any direction in the cans.

10. Apparatus for freezing water ice, of the character which includes an air pipe arranged above a plurality of ice freezing cans and drop tubes extending into the cans for delivering compressed air beneath the surface of the water to be frozen, said apparatus being characterized by the fact that the drop tubes are loosely suspended by supporting fixtures from the air pipe, and the fixtures each have a rib extending across the supporting pipe and slidable endwise 0n the 3 pipe and tiltable on the pipe to permit swinging of the pipe in any direction.

11. In combination with an air delivery pipe, a drop tube supporting fixture including an eye to encircle said pipe, an arcuate rib rounded in cross section formed upon the interior of said eye and engaging the pipe to support the eye from the pipe and permit limited swinging movement of the eye in any direction, a drop tube carried by said eye, and a flexible connection between the pipe and drop tube.

12. In combination, an air delivery pipe, a drop tube fixture including an air delivery pipe engaging member loosely suspended from the pipe and having its lower end beveled, a drop tube having its upper end flared to fit said beveled end, and means for clamping said flared end against the beveled end of said member.

ALVIN H. BAER. 

